That intro though…

Can we take a moment to acknowledge the absolutely brilliant intro to “Money for Nothing” by the band Dire Straits?

The song was on the album “Brothers in Arms” (Warner Bros, 1985). Mark Knopfler had support from Sting to do the vocals of the song.

I grew up hearing this album, and I never gave it much thought. Just like the song that is still on the radio quite a bit. Unfortunately, they rarely play the intro on the radio. It starts with Sting singing in his falsetto “I want my MTV”, in the background Synths hint at the melody of the guitar in quite a Pink Floyd-esque manner. The drums kick in and with that, the famous guitar solo that is repeated throughout the song takes us in.

Now, I know the song has some controversial lyrics and apparently, as I read moments ago, is banned in Canada for the use of the word “faggot” since 2011. Money for Nothing was written in 1985, I won’t make up excuses for it, but we were less educated and less tolerant of diversity back then. At the same time, the song is about guys watching music videos and making snarky comments about what and who they are seeing. The use of the slur shows the jealousy of the men watching TV.

By the way, Money for Nothing was the first song ever played on MTV Europe in 1987.

That intro though… Phew.